It’s A MAD World

MADtv Celebrates Ten Years at Hollywood Center Studios

In September, MADtv began its 12th season on Fox, a remarkable run for the late-night, sketch comedy series. For the past ten years, the show has made Hollywood Center Studios its home, shooting more than 20 episodes per year on Stage 3/8. The show also maintains its year-round executive offices and editing rooms on the lot.

MADtv was conceived by executive producer David Salzman, who had been an avid reader of MAD Magazine as a youth. It took him more than a decade to sell a network on the show and, early on, it faced tough competition from Saturday Night Live. But, by its third season, sparked in part by a particularly potent satire of Felicity, the show was a bona fide hit. The Felicity satire, dubbed Intensity, was included in TV Guide's list of the all-time funniest TV moments.

Today, the show continues to gain viewership and critical kudos. At the 2006 Emmys, MADtv took home two awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song Wonderfully Normal Day featured in a sketch about Disney.

Putting on a sketch comedy series is no small task. MADtv shoots 22 episodes in a scant 28 weeks with a crew that numbers more than 130 people. Over the years, the show has become built in to the already extensive infrastructure of the historic Stage 3/8 Hollywood Center. It features an extra large hair and make-up area to accommodate the cast of 10 regular players and other weekly guest performers. Read-throughs and rehearsals take place in a huge loft space above the dressing room complex and adjacent to the busy wardrobe fitting rooms. On stage, there are two kitchens (one for craft services and the other for props), a lighting control room, and several other easily accessible storage rooms for set, props, and paint departments. (The show maintains a separate, large warehouse area year-round elsewhere on the studio lot. After 12 years, it's more like a MADtv museum!).

With production days sometimes stretching to 16 hours, having every aspect of the show from its writers bull pen to editorial facilities located in one spot is more than a mere convenience. "I've worked with Hollywood Center for 20 years and they've always been accommodating," says Rita Katsotis, the show's executive in charge of production. "Even the most mundane problems are taken care of right away."

At nearly, 19,000 square feet, Stage 3/8 is among the largest at Hollywood Center. Its features include a cat walk accessible lighting grid, raised wood floor, silent air conditioning, and connectivity to one or more of the digital video control rooms. It is also one of nine stages on the lot that are audience-rated, allowing 250 fans of MADtv to attend tapings.

With an exceptionally talented writing staff and cast keeping the laughs coming, the end for MADtv is no where in sight. "It's been extraordinary," Katsotis notes. "How many shows make it to 12 seasons? We hope there will be many more. In the meantime, we're staying the course and trying to be funny."